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Getting Around

This ain't your average Greyhound ride

Jessica Cross

15 Sep 2009

Turkey

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Coach buses are an extremely convenient way to travel around Turkey. There are tons of companies to choose from, they're cheap, and most of the time they'll give you free tea or Nescafé and cake. The really fancy coach buses will even offer you lemon cologne upon arrival or departure from one of the rest stops. Now, when I say from one of the rest stops, I mean from one of the many. Drivers normally stop for about a half hour every few hours to wash and scrub the entire the bus and allow the passengers to stretch their legs and use the WC (there are no toilets on the bus). At times it's frustrating, but at least the bus is clean and there are no bugs marring your view from the window!

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Culture Shock

Touchy-feely in Turkey

Jessica Cross

16 Sep 2009

Turkey

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Turks tend to express their friendliness in a physical manner. Both women AND men link arms while walking as a sign of close friendship. Both women and men kiss each other on each cheek when saying "hello" or "goodbye." Also, it is perfectly acceptable for you to approach someone else's children, play with their hair, squeeze their cheeks, and talk to them. The owner of a restaurant my friends and I visited let us play with his child and hold him while he was cooking our food.

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Must Do

I just ate what?!

Jessica Cross

16 Sep 2009

Turkey

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One of my personal favorite foods in Turkey is called "kokoreç" -- to put it bluntly, grilled sheep intestines. The best time to get it is when you're in the cities later at night and the crowds of bar hoppers are wandering around. You'll find the vendors at their grills right on the street. The intestines are on a giant horizontal spit above the grill, and made fresh to order. You can order with our without spice. The meat is taken off, and is chopped up with the knives beating on the cutting board in such a beautifully rhythmic way, it makes you want to dance right there. Don't forget to order some "ayran" as well with your sandwich -- it's Turkey's most famous yogurt drink that really helps cool down the spice from the kokoreç.

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Etiquette

Keep your voice down

Jessica Cross

16 Sep 2009

Turkey

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It's considered rude to talk loudly on public transportation, especially on your cell phone. Whenever my study abroad group commuted somewhere together, we were always stared at for being so noisy.

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Food

Baked potato a la turca

Jessica Cross

15 Sep 2009

Turkey

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If you really want to try a unique Turkish twist on a familiar food, make sure you try "kumpir." Basically, the inside of a giant baked potato is whipped with butter and cheese, and then has a variety of toppings added to it, ranging from ketchup to mayo, from olives to "rus salatasi" (Russian salad). You can find it almost anywhere, but I would recommend trying a "kumpir" in the Ortaköy neighborhood of Istanbul. They have a whole line of vendor stands and when you walk by, all of the vendors will begin to call out to you to try to get you to buy from them. You'll never again feel so famous and wanted! The best part is you can sit down outside and eat it along the shore of the Bosporus.

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Slang

Say "no" without actually saying anything

Jessica Cross

16 Sep 2009

Turkey

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In Turkish, the word "hayir" (said like "high-er") means "no," but you won't hear it used all that often. To say "no" in Turkish, you can normally use the word "yok" (generally meaning "don't have") if the pronunciation of "hayir" is proving to be difficult. Most of the time, you don't even have to say anything. You can raise your eyebrows, make a kind of clicking sound with your tongue (your lips are normally pursed slightly while doing it) while raising your chin slightly, or do all of the above at the same time for a strong, stern answer. Also, slightly nodding your head down and blinking your eyes simultaneously is a way of saying "yes," but it's not as commonly used as the tongue clicking sound.

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